


Finding Out: James MacGyver

by blackrose1002



Series: Finding Out [1]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Established Relationship, James MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016) Being an Asshole, Light Angst, M/M, set in the "Finding Jack" universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 22:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16463150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackrose1002/pseuds/blackrose1002
Summary: Part one in a series of fics set in the "Finding Jack" universe, featuring reactions of different people to finding out about Jack and Mac getting together.The truth was, James MacGyver didn’t like Jack Dalton that much. Actually, if he was being honest, he didn’t like Jack Dalton at all, and he was having a hard time understanding why everyone else did. He knew that even Matty had a soft spot for Dalton, and that her annoyance by his antics was mostly for show, and was perceived by both of them as a sign of affection. What James couldn’t figure out waswhy.





	Finding Out: James MacGyver

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Following the amazing response to my first MacDalton fic, I have decided to write a series of fics set in the "Finding Jack" universe, featuring reactions of different people to finding out about Jack and Mac getting together. So you should probably read "Finding Jack" before reading this.
> 
> I'm planning at least four fics in this series and first up, we have James. Just a warning, when I don't like a character or I don't trust them, I tend to project my dislike through my fics - so James is a real ass in this one.
> 
> I really hope you like it, please leave a comment and let me know!

_About six months after Jack’s kidnapping_

The truth was, James MacGyver didn’t like Jack Dalton that much. Actually, if he was being honest, he didn’t like Jack Dalton at all, and he was having a hard time understanding why everyone else did. He knew that even Matty had a soft spot for Dalton, and that her annoyance by his antics was mostly for show, and was perceived by both of them as a sign of affection. What James couldn’t figure out was _why._

For him, Dalton was an opinionated, loud troublemaker who didn’t like following rules and who always tried to turn everything into a joke. He was good at shooting things, James had to give him that, but that was it.

Another thing that James couldn’t understand was Dalton’s partnership with Angus. When these two had been paired up together for the first time, back in Afghanistan, James had been sure it wouldn’t last long. He had done his own research and had heard a share of stories about Dalton, and James had figured that his son’s stubbornness mixed with Dalton’s temper was a recipe for a disaster. And at first everything was just as James had predicted, Dalton and Angus couldn’t stand each other, and James had been counting days until Dalton’s tour was up. But then, somewhere along the way things had changed, and before James knew, Dalton had signed up for another tour completely out of the blue, for reasons only known to the man himself.

And after that Dalton and Angus had become basically inseparable, and had been going like that ever since.

Which was exactly the reason why James was climbing up the stairs leading to Dalton’s apartment. For a while now he had been looking for someone more suitable to be his son’s new partner, but first, he needed Dalton out of the picture. He had been trying to split them up for a while now, assigning them separate cases, pairing Angus with Riley Davis more often, and leaving Dalton to work either solo or with other operatives hired at the Phoenix Foundation. He wasn’t sure if Angus had noticed the sudden change in the assignments, but if he had, he hadn’t said anything which made James hope that his plan was actually working. The last step included sitting Dalton down and telling him Angus was better off without him – James didn’t exactly understand why, but he knew Angus was Dalton’s weakness, and convincing him he was no good for Angus was his best shot to drive Dalton away. James knew that if he talked to Dalton at Phoenix, there was a risk of Angus interrupting them, hence the early morning visit at Dalton’s apartment. This way James could catch him before he left for work and before Angus even left his own house.

Knocking on the door, James wondered what Dalton’s reaction would be when he saw him on his doorstep. Hearing the shuffling on the other side, James straightened, schooling his face not to show any emotions, and as the door opened, he opened his mouth, but the words he had prepared to say died in his throat when he saw the person in front of him.

Because right there, opening the door instead of Dalton, was Angus.

“Dad?” Angus frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Still trying to recover from shock, James blinked. “I could ask you the same thing.”

A questioning look in his son’s eyes morphed into a confused one. “I’m eating breakfast.” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but opened the door wider “Come on in.”

Stepping inside, James looked around, his eyes falling once again on Angus who went to sit behind the counter, clearly getting back to his bowl of cereal that was standing there. “So, is this about a case? Since when are you delivering the messages personally?” Angus asked, munching the cereal; Apple Jacks, judging by the box standing on the counter.

“No, I…” James shook his head, trying to figure out what to say. The presence of his son in Dalton’s apartment had caught him off guard, and it was a feeling that James had never liked. “I actually wanted to talk to agent Dalton about something.”

Arching his eyebrow, Mac put down the spoon. “Jack’s in the shower, he should be out in a minute if you want to wait.”

“Yeah, okay.” James nodded absentmindedly. “Listen, Angus-”

“I asked you not to call me that.” Angus cut him off with a pointed look on his face.

“I’m not going to call you by a nickname that sounds like a name for a dog, Angus.” James rolled his eyes, ignoring the way the features of his son’s face hardened, his steely blue eyes suddenly growing colder. “You eat here breakfast often?”

“Only when I stay over.” Angus replied slowly, looking at James as if he had lost his mind. “I better go tell Jack you’re here.” He added, getting up from his seat.

“I thought you said he was in a shower.” James frowned.

“He is.” Angus looked at James incredulously before disappearing behind the door that presumably led to Dalton’s bedroom, and now James had a feeling _he was missing something_ , but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

It was a minute, maybe two, before Angus emerged from the room, followed by Dalton who was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a name of some band James was not familiar with.

“Mr. Oversight.” Dalton grinned cheerfully. “What can I do for ya?”

“I actually hoped we could speak in private.” James replied, determined to stick to his original plan as much as he could, and that included Angus not being in the same room while he talked to Dalton.

For a second James thought he had succeeded when he saw Angus making a move to leave the living room, but then Dalton grabbed his shoulder, stopping Angus in his tracks. “Whatever you want to tell me, Mac can stay.” Dalton said, the grin disappearing from his lips, his dark eyes flashing with something serious, and in that moment James realized that Dalton’s cheerful greeting was just for show – the man did not trust him at all.

“Fine.” James shrugged. “I think you two shouldn’t work together anymore.”

If James was being honest, he had expected many reactions, mostly the angry and outraged ones, but Angus and Dalton exchanging pointed looks with a sigh was certainly not one of them.

“I told you.” Angus shook his head, talking to Dalton. “I told you it was because of us.”

“What?” James frowned, not following.

“You think we haven’t noticed that we’re being sent on missions with different people more often than not?” Angus looked at him, and by the tone of his voice, James could tell he was annoyed. “We just don’t get _why._ It’s not like anything has changed in our behavior when we’re on a job, we have been acting like a married couple anyway for most of the time before we even got together.” Angus continued, unaware of James’ jaw basically hitting the floor. “So I don’t get why you’re suddenly so bent on splitting us up after we made it official.”

“What?” James repeated, looking between Dalton and his son with wide eyes. “Made what official?”

“You… don’t know?” It was Angus’ turn to frown as he looked at James, surprise evident in his eyes.

“Either that or your old man has lost his marbles, buddy.” Dalton added with an amused expression on his face.

“Why did you think I was here eating breakfast after I told you I stayed the night?” Angus asked, looking at him incredulously. “We have been together for about six months, ever since we got Jack back after he was kidnapped.” He clarified and it felt like James’ world had stopped. “We figured you knew, it’s a common knowledge at Phoenix, everybody knows.”

“But…” Probably for the first time in his life James found himself at a loss for words, but using his years of training, he closed his eyes trying to get back the control over his mind and body. “Okay, I need to wrap my mind around it. Excuse me.” Eager to get out of there, James headed for the door, wanting to be anywhere else more than anything.

“Hang on for just a sec.” Dalton’s voice stopped him just as his hand was on the handle. “If you didn’t know about us, why did you say we shouldn’t be working together anymore?”

And damn, James had forgotten about that part. Turning back around, James was about to tell them exactly why, but before he got a chance to do that, Angus took a few steps, standing right in front of him.

“I kind of think I know the answer to this one.” His son started, his voice low, laced with something dangerous. “And just so you know, either I’m working with Jack or I’m not working at all.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Faced with a confrontation, James was able to put the shocking revelation to the back of his mind, focusing on what was happening right in front of him.

“In case you have some kind of a brilliant idea to get me a new partner, I quit.” And there was no hesitation in Angus’ blue eyes, just pure determination.

“Oh, yeah, me too.” Dalton’s voice piped up and when James glanced at him, Dalton raised his hand, giving him a small wave.

“I’ll make sure you never get hired by any federal agencies.” James threatened, but was shocked to see that the expressions on both Angus’ and Dalton’s faces didn’t change.

“You have no idea how much I don’t care about that.” Angus replied with a cold smirk on his face, making James clench his fists in anger.

“Eventually he’s going to leave you. They always do.” James said quietly, delivering his final blow, hoping to shatter his son’s confidence in Dalton by pushing at insecurities he knew Angus still had about people leaving him.

Seeing Angus breathe in slowly through his nose, James knew he had hit a sore spot, and in hindsight, he probably should have seen the punch coming, but it wasn’t until Angus’ fist connected with face that he realized what was happening, and by then it was too late to react. Pain spreading through his jaw, James staggered from the force of the punch, and when he glanced up, Angus was looking at him with a cold fury in his eyes.

“Jack is not Walsh.” He gritted through his teeth. “And the sooner you get it through to your head, the better.”

Realizing there was nothing else to say, James straightened out and after throwing one last look at Dalton and Angus, he marched out of the apartment, heading back to his car. He had a lot of thinking and reevaluating to do, considering his son’s undying loyalty to Dalton and, what made things even more complicated, the fact that they had seemed to take their relationship to a whole new level.

But no matter what Angus thought, no matter how long Dalton had stuck around so far, James was sure it was not going to last. So he was just going to stand back and watch how things would play out, waiting for their relationship to fall apart which was just what he needed to get rid of Dalton once and for all.

He knew it could take a while, but well. James MacGyver was a very patient man – he would wait as long as necessary to make sure his plan was finalized.

* * *

“Hey, you okay?” Jack asked softly, walking up to Mac after the door closed behind the evil MacGyver.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Mac turned to look at him. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’m surprised you didn’t punch him yourself though.” He added with a small smile.

“Oh, I wanted to, you have no idea.” Jack smirked. “But I figured you deserved the first swing at him.”

“Jack Dalton, passing up on an opportunity to punch someone?” Mac grinned. “Unbelievable.”

Laughing loudly, the kind of laugh that made Mac’s heart beat faster, Jack wrapped his arm around him, kissing his cheek. “Only for you, baby. Only for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I obviously don't think Jack and Mac's relationship wouldn't last, that's just James' opinion. Even though he is obviously very wrong ;)


End file.
